Past Event

Steamboat Springs  Pingpong started as a tribute and now has become part of the culture at Vertical Arts Architecture in Steamboat Springs.

The sport has begun to take on a life of its own in recent years, finding a place beside foosball and pool tables at bars across the country. So it follows that Steamboat Springs should have its own pingpong tournament.

Vertical Arts will host the inaugural Paddle Battle on Saturday at the Tennis Center at Steamboat Springs.

The tournament will feature play in open, men’s B, women’s B, mixed doubles, women’s doubles and men’s doubles divisions. The open division will feature the best men’s and women’s players.

The event begins at 10 a.m. Saturday with pool play.

The finals take place Saturday evening at McKnight’s Irish Pub & Loft, where a party full of prizes and drinks will await.

The entry cost is $25 per singles player and $10 per player on doubles teams. Proceeds will benefit The Challenge Fund for Steamboat Springs schools. To register, visit www.steamboatpaddlebattle.eventbrite.com or stop by the Vertical Arts office.

“We’ve all become decent pingpong players,” said Brandt Vanderbosch, principal at Vertical Arts. “It’s a big part of the culture of our office.”

Vanderbosch started getting into pingpong in 2008 when he went to a family tournament in Nebraska called Garage Wars.

Tragedy struck and Vanderbosch’s wife’s uncle died of a heart attack at the first event. In 2009 it was changed to the Bill Hall Classic.

The tournament will include prizes in each division as well as food and drinks. For more information, call 970-871-9956 or email matt@vertical-arts.com. An event page also can be found on Facebook by searching “First Annual Paddle Battle.”

“We decided let’s have a great, fun ping pong tournament,” Vanderbosch said. “Everyone will have a good time.”